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Accommodation Services for Individuals with Disabilities

Lawson State Community College is committed to serving individuals with disabilities. All programs across the campus are available to provide a broad diversity of services designated to the needs of college students with disabilities. Remember, always provide your instructors with a copy of your accommodations letter. This is very important. Reminders: Students with disabilities should remember that registration for disability services is separate from gaining admission to Lawson State Community College. If you are applying to Lawson State Community College and you have a disability, it is recommended that you do not submit disability documentation to the admissions office. Admissions decisions are made without regard to disability status.

Mobility Services

Mobility orientation is provided to students that need and request the services. Students should contact the disability counselor as early as possible to make arrangements for mobility orientation to campus.
Students with mobility impairments who require assistance from offices/personnel housed on the second floor of the Administration Building on the Birmingham Campus should report to the Office of Student Financial Services, Room 104, for such assistance. Signage indicating such is visibly posted at each entrance and in the hallway of the building. Students with disabilities receive appropriate accommodations relative to their specific disability. Though the Academic Building has no elevator, students are not excluded from a requested course offering, program or activity because it is not offered in an accessible location. The college relocates classes, programs and activities as necessary to accommodate students with mobility challenges.

Guide Dogs/Service Animals

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), service animals are permitted on the college campus and in its facilities. Technically speaking, a service animal means any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing, providing minimal rescue or protection work, pulling a wheelchair or fetching dropped items. Therapy or companion animals are not service animals and are not covered under the ADA. To be permitted on campus, a guide dog must be specifically trained to perform a service function. Furthermore, the animal should wear a harness, cape, identification tag or other gear that readily identifies its working status. Guide dogs whose behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others may be excluded regardless of training or certification.

Other Reasonable Accommodations Include:

"Qualified interpreters, assistive listening systems, captioning, TTYs, qualified readers, [calculater use, student note takers, extended time on tests, distraction free testing environments, tape recording of lectures, posting of lecture notes online via Blackboard], audio recordings, taped texts, Braille materials, large print materials, materials on computer disk, and adapted computer terminals are examples of auxiliary aids and services that provide effective communication. Such services must be provided unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration of the program or would result in undue financial or administrative burdens.... Public entities must give primary consideration to the individual with a disability's preferred form of communication unless it can be demonstrated that another equally effective means of communication exists."
Extracted from: http://www.pacer.org/publications/adaqa/504.asp

Modification of Policies, Procedures and Program Accessibility policies

"The most challenging aspect of modifying classroom policies or practices for students with disabilities is that it requires thought and some prior preparation. The difficulty lies in the need to anticipate needs and be prepared in advance. The actual modifications themselves are rarely substantive or expensive. Some examples are rescheduling classes to an accessible location; early enrollment options for students with disabilities to allow time to arrange accommodations; substitution of specific courses required for completion of degree requirements; allowing service animals in the classroom; providing students with disabilities with a syllabus prior to the beginning of class; clearly communicating course requirements, assignments, due dates, grading criteria both orally and in written form; providing written outlines or summaries of class lectures, or integrating this information into comments at the beginning and end of class; and allowing students to use notetakers or tape record lectures. Modifications will always vary based on the individual student's needs. Modifications of policies and practices are not required when it would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity." Extracted from: http://www.pacer.org/publications/adaqa/504.asp

Parking

Accessible parking areas are available to students who are certified for disability parking by their home state.

Library Media Center (Access and Assistance)

Library staff may be contacted during business hours to ensure access to library collections and services. Special services include research assistance, telephone, and reference, retrieval of materials, photocopying assistance, library orientation, special check-out arrangements, and extended loan periods for reserved materials.
*Up-to-date reference and resource materials
*Computers and Internet access
*Virtual library system

Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS)

ADRS exists to enable individuals with disabilities to reach their potential. ADRS provides necessary diagnostic medical, educational, technology, Independent living, vocational counseling, and employment services to eligible individuals with disabilities to assist them in entering into employment. They do not provide comprehensive psychological services. For more information contact ADRS at (205) 290-4400, or 1-800-441-7607.Other Disability Related Services May Be Provided Upon Request After Submission Of Appropriate Documentation.

Non-Discrimination Policy

It is the policy of the Alabama Community College System, its Board of Trustees, and Lawson State Community College, a postsecondary institution under its control, that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, disability, sex, religion, creed, national origin, or age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program, activity, or employment.

Lawson State Community College also prohibits discrimination due to ethnic origin, marital status, parental status, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, citizenship, veteran status or disability, reasonable accommodations or any other protected class as defined by federal and state law. The college has zero tolerance for harassment, retaliation, violence, physical bullying, cyber-bullying, and hazing.

This nondiscrimination policy covers employment, admissions, training, organizational affiliation, student housing, and advisory boards in all college programs and activities. This policy is enforced by Federal law under Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504, of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Inquiries regarding compliance with these statutes may be directed to the Dean of Students (205-929-6361) or the Director of Human Resources (205-929-6313).